STEPHEN  IB,  WEEKS 

CLASS  OF  1886;  PHD  THE  JOHNS  HOPKINS  UNIVERSfTY 


OF  THE 


UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


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A  SERMON, 


PREACHED  BY   APPOINTMENT 


SENIOR   CLASS 


liukrsitj)  of  Jtorij}  Carolina 


JUNE  2,  1856. 
BY 

REV.  B.  MANLY,  Jr. 


"  W herewith  shall  a  young  man  cleanse  his  icay?     By  taking  heed  thereto  according 
to  thy  word." — Ps.   cxix  :  9. 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  CLASS. 
1856. 


H.  K.  ELLYSON,  PRINTER, 
Richmond,  Ya. 


SERMON. 


Whereuith  shall   a  young   man    cleanse   his  way.'     By  taking  heed 
thereto,   according  to  thy  word. 


It  is  commonly  felt  to  be  a  solemn  thing  to  die.  It  is  a 
more  important,  serious  and  weighty  thing  to  live.  Death,, 
whether  gloomy  or  joyous,  is  just  what  life  makes  it,  Yet, 
while  we  approach  the  former  with  trepidation  and  anxiety, 
we  dare  to  live,  not  only  without  careful  preparation,  hut 
often  with  the  utmost  heedlessness  and  frivolity.  In  no 
other  matter  is  such  conduct  considered  justifiable. 

Let  us  imagine  a  person  setting  out  on  a  new  road,  of 
which  lie  had  no  personal  experience,  nor  accurate  informa- 
tion. Darkness  overspreads  his  path,  limiting  his  vision  to 
the  spot  on  which  he  stands,  and  hiding  all  beyond  with  its 
gloomy  and  impenetrable  veil.  Yet  it  is  a  journey  he  must 
take  ;  and  upon  its  results  the  most  important  consequences 
depend.  How  deeply  does  he  need — how  earnestly  should 
he  desire — a  guide  ! 

But  let  us  suppose  the  darkness  so  far  alleviated  as  to 
disclose  something  of  surrounding  objects.  In  the  dim  and 
indistinct  light,  he  can  just  discover  snares  contrived  to 
entrap  him,  and  false  paths  calculated  to  mislead  him:  and, 
while  he  gazes  on  these  more  closely,  he  is  horrified  by  dis- 
covering there,  just  before  him,  the  melancholy  remains  of 
some  who  had  fallen  out  of  the  way,  or  been  destroyed  in 
the  snares  ;■ — so  that  every  step  he  traces  will  be  over  the 
bones  of  previous  unfortunate  adventurers.  In  addition  to 
all  this,  he  perceives,  with  increasing  alarm,  that  the  very 
light  which  affords  these  partial  discoveries  is  discolored  and 
changeful,  casting  deceptive  hues  on  the  objects  it  exhibits  ; 
and  that,  under  its  fickle  glimmerings,  every  thing  alters 
its  appearance,  moment  by  moment,  as  rapidly  as  the  shift- 
ing scenes  of  a  disturbed  and  anxious  dream. 

From  a  dream  such  as  this,  one  would  wake  with  strange 
terror  :  into  a  reality  like  it,  one  might  enter  with  reasona- 
ble apprehension  and  alarm. 


But  tins  is  Hot  altogether  a,  dream— a  picture  of  the 
imagination.  It  is  an  illustration,  not  altogether  unjust; 
though  imperfect  and  one-sided,  of  human  life,  The  youth- 
ful pilgrim,  buoyant  with  hope,  and  rash  through  inexperi- 
ence, sets  out  on  a  path  which  he  neve]'  trod  before,  which 
none  have  trod  twice,  and  from  which  no  traveler  ever 
returned  to  direct  his  successor.  He  finds  himself  fre- 
quently misled  and  mistaken,  going  wrong  when  lie  thought 
he  was  right,  disappointed  when  he  felt  most  confident,  and 

{dunged  into  danger  when  all  seemed  safety.  At  first,  per- 
iapSj  he  imagines  the  darkness  is  becoming  less  intense, 
and  the  glimmering  lights  less  deceitful.  But  time  and 
repeated  disappointments  painfully  undeceive  him.  The 
more  he  learns,  the  more  fully  convinced  is  he  how  little  he 
knows.  He  began  by  believing  everything  ;  he  finds  him- 
self almost  ready  to  doubt  everything,  He  commenced  by 
thinking  there  were  no  bounds  to  his  knowledge  ;  he  is  apt 
to  end  his  laborious  search,  by  concluding  there  are  no 
bounds  to  his  ignorance.  He  realizes  that  the  lights  he  has 
trusted  to  are  not  only  few  and  faint,  but  deceptive  ;  and 
sees  that  warping,  and  perverting,  and  ensnaring  influences 
are  at  work  all  around  him,  which  have  lured  to  destruc- 
tion thousands,  who  set  out  in  life  with  hopes  as  fair  as  liisk 

And  does  he  need  no  guide?  Is  a  heedless  and  petulant 
blindness,  an  ignorant  self-confidence,  a  contemptuous  dis- 
regard of  caution  and  neglect  of  advice,  the  preparation  with 
which  to  commence  the  journey  of  life  ? 

If  there  were  merely  danger  of  error  ahead— it'  the  tempta- 
tions and  snares,  however  numerous,  had  in  no  instance  yet 
been  successful  his  case  would  seem  necessitous  indeed  ;  but 
it  is  too  late  to  speculate  about  mere  possibilities  of  evil,  and 
proclivity  to  wrong,  when  the  actual  wrong  is  obvious  in 
life  and  heart.  The  way  is  not  only  dark  and  difficult  in 
advance,  but  the  portion  passed  over  has  been  wrong.  It 
needs  cleansing,  and  not  merely  guidance.  The  pilgrim  has 
gone  diligently  and  rapidly  out  of  the  way,  and  wandered 
till  he  is  bewildered  and  worn  out,  and  has  many  a  step  to 
retrace  before  he  can  enter  upon  the  right  road. 

In  commencing  a  journey,  the  dangers  of  which  are  so 
imminent,  the  failures  in  which  so  numerous,  and  the  con- 
sequences of  which  so  momentous — and  still  more,  in  pro- 
secuting a  journey  wdiich  has  hitherto  been  so  erroneous  and 
misguided,  it  is  a  question  which  sound  discretion  combines 


with    religion   to   urge — "Wherewith   shall   a   young   man 
cleanse  his  way  ?" 

Perhaps  no  direction  would  be  more  likely  to  commend 
itself  at  once  to  every  thinking  mind,  than  that  one,  who  is 
pursuing  such  a  perilous  route,  should  take  heed  to  Ms  way, 
In  all  matters  of  importance  and  danger,  we  scarcely 
need  reasons  to  urge  the  necessity  of  caution.  Instinct 
itself  rouses  our  energies,  and  gives  keenness,  activity  and 
vigilance  to  every  power,  by  which  we  may  cither  discover 
or  avert  the  threatened  calamity.  To  take  heed  is  the  first 
prompting  of  our  nature,  when  danger  is  seen  to  be  impend- 
ing— the  universal  lesson,  which  we  need  no  wisdom  to 
teach,  nor  time  to  learn. 

Especially  is  this  advice  applicable  in  the  subject  of  which 
we  speak.  Want  of  consideration  is  the  very  sin  God  com- 
plains of — one  of  the  chief  sources  of  error  in  all,  and  the 
especial  cause  of  evil  among  youth.  It  is  not  so  frequent  a 
fault  among  men,  that  they  have  considered  their  way,  and 
-decided  wrong,  as  that  they  have  not  considered  at  all.  If 
men  can  be  prevailed  on  to  step  and  think,  we  may  ordina- 
rily depend  on  their  making  a  right  decision  ;  otherwise 
such  a  decision  is  not  even  to  be  hoped  for. 

Your  own  experience,  though  brief,  will  confirm  this. 
The  most  deplorable,  injurious,  wicked  acts  of  your  lives 
have  not  been  schemes  deliberately  planned  and  persevered 
in  ;  but  rather  those  into  which,  at  the  commencement,  you 
were  hurried  by  impulses,  or  betrayed  by  deceptions  that 
might  have  been  avoided,  if  you  had  been  talcing  heed.  Is 
it  not  so? 

Moreover,  since  heedlessness  is  the  error  to  which  youth 
are  especially  prone,  for  that  very  reason,  instead  of  excus- 
ing it,  you  should  most  strenuously  resist  it.  A  wise  gene- 
ral will  always  set  his  guard  in  the  direction  where  the 
enemy  threaten  approach. 

There  is  hope,  too,  of  the  young,  that  if  they  can  be 
roused  to  needfulness,  they  can  be  more  probably  trained 
and  preserved  in  purity .  In  them,  evil  passions  have  not 
vet  taken  such  a  deep  root,  nor  spread  so  widely  their  pro- 
lific seed.  In  them,  the  propensity  to  wrong  has  not  yet 
become  unblushing,  deliberate  and  persistent.  They  have 
not  learned  the  fatal,  the  degrading  lesson,  to  see  them- 
selves vile,  yet  purpose  to  be  viler  still.  They  would  trem- 
ble to  acknowledge,  even  to  themselves,  that  they  are  under 


6 

that  terrible  bondage,  which  enthrals  the  soul,  when  it 
becomes  consciously,  yet  calmly,  subject  to  evil — when  re- 
sistance ceases,  and  the  struggle  for  reformation  relaxes 
from  faintness  into  quiescence,  and  the  whispers  of  con- 
science die  entirely  away — when  the  man  is  "  given  over  to 
his  own  heart's  lusts,  to  work  out  all  uncleanliness  with 
greediness."  The  wanderings  of  the  young  from  the  path 
are  not  like  the  fierce  rush  of  the  steam  horse,  when  he 
bursts  from  his  track,  crushing  and  crushed  by  his  impetus 
and  weight,  but  rather  as  the  Sittings  of  birds  from  flower 
to  flower,  till  caught  in  the  snare. 

Would  that  I  knew  how,  most  effectually,  to  urge  upon 
you,  my  young  friends,  the  importance  of  a  heedful,  serious, 
forecasting  view  of  life.  I  may  speak  to  you  as  an  equal,  a 
friend,  rather  than  an  instructor  or  superior  ;  as  a  young 
man  to  young  men  ;  as  one  whose  sympathies  beat  in  perfect 
unison  with  yours  ;  who  has  preceded  you  but  a  single  step, 
if  at  all,  and  who  is  desirous  of  immediately  turning  to  your 
benefit  the  little  experience  he  may  have  gained  by  this 
advance. 

This  principle  may  be  stated  as  one  of  universal  applica- 
tion— that  if  we  would  succeed  in  anything,  we  must  study 
the  laws  of  success,  and  act  according  to  them  :  in  other 
words,  that  in  any  honorable  and  wise  pursuit,  taking  heed 
is  indispensable  to  success.  What  is  true  of  the  parts,  is  true 
of  the  whole.  What  is  true  of  the  various  aims  and  pursuits 
of  life,  is  true  of  life  itself. 

Life  is  no  haphazard  affair.  Its  results  are  regulated  by 
laws  as  certain  and  as  ascertainable  as  the  laws  of  gravity, 
or  of  chemical  combination.  There  is  no  room  for  chance  in 
all  the  universe  of  God.  Men  do  not  happen  to  be  great  or 
good.  It  is  not  a  matter  of  accident  that  they  are  useful  or 
successful.  The  structure  of  a  colossal  reputation,  or  an 
extended  influence,  is  not  reared  by  chance,  any  more  than 
the  stately  palace  or  the  majestic  oak  can  be  accounted  for 
as  a  happy  aggregation  of  fortuitous  particles.  Circum- 
stances seemingly  accidental  may  sometimes  stimulate  an 
individual  to  mighty  efforts,  or  may  develop,  in  a  particular 
direction,  the  latent  energies  of  his  nature,  and  thus  conduct 
him  to  greatness  :  but  this  is  the  result,  not  of  the  circum- 
stances, but  of  the  energy  put  forth. 

I  entreat  you  to  settle  it  with  yourselves,  that  there  is  no 
likelihood  of  just  happening  to  succeed  in  anything  desirable 


for  time  or  eternity,  no  probability  of  stumbling  into  great- 
ness, or  of  being  snatched  up  by  some  chance  wind,  and 
wafted  to  the  temple  of  true  honor.  A  poet  sings  of  ''flowers 
blushing  unseen,"  and  "undiscovered  gems,'  of  "mute  in- 
glorious Miltons,"  and  -'''village  Hampdens,  all  unknown  to 
tame  :"  but  when  we  leave  the  regions  of  fiction  for  those  of 
fact,  we  find  that  true  greatness  bursts  through  obstacles. 
The  men  who  render  history  illustrious,  and  of  whom  the 
world  is  not  worthy,  were  not  born  in  palaces.  Chill  pen- 
ury neither  repressed  nor  froze  the  genial  current,  but  only 
dammed  it  up  till  it  rose  higher,  and  surmounted  the  ob- 
structions, or  bore  them  away  by  its  accumulated  energy. 
For  ten  who  have  been  repressed  by  penury,  there  are 
twenty  who  have  been  forced  by  it  to  exertion,  and  twenty 
more  who  have  been  withered  and  rendered  effeminate  under 
the  sun  of  prosperity.  The  fact  is,  the  real  Miltons  are 
neither  mute  nor  inglorious.  They  force  a  passage  to  the 
surface,  as  surely  as  the  melted  masses  of  the  volcano  find 
vent.  They  carve  away  for  themselves;  or  rather,  the  Pro- 
vidence that  shapes  our  ends,  brings  together  the  hour  and 
the  man  that  are  suited  for  each  other,  and  developes  both 
at  once. 

This  truth,  which  is  important  in  reference  to  any  kind  of 
success  in  life,  becomes  all  important,  when  applied  to  the 
subject  of  religion.  In  seeking  the  greatest  of  ends,  the 
laws  of  success  are  universal,  invariable,  and  explicit.  And 
one  of  the  indispensable  and  absolutely  necessary  requi- 
sites is  taking  heed.  True  piety  is  utterly  unattainable 
without  it.  Think  not  that  you  may  some  day  happen  to  be 
a  Christian.  Dream  not  that  divine  efficiency  will,  without 
your  consent,  transform  you  into  a  state  of  purity  which  you 
have  neither  desired  nor  prayed  for.  If  all  who  seek  to 
enter  in  at  the  strait  gate  shall  not  he  able,  how  certainly  will 
they  fail,  who  have  not  sought.  If  prayers  and  tears  will 
not  secure  salvation,  how  fearful  the  delusion  which  expects 
heaven,  though  prayerless,  tearless,  heedless  alike  of  sin 
and  salvation,  of  holiness  to  be  sought,  and  heaven  to  be  won. 
If  ever  you  become  a  Christian,  depend  upon  it  there  must 
be  thought,  earnestness.,  serious  views  of  yourself  and  of 
God,  of  life  and  of  death,  of  judgment  and  eternity.  These 
are  indispensable  to  real  religion,  to  acceptance  with  God. 

Is  this  a  hard  requisition  ?     Would  you  have  it  other- 
wise?   If  there  could  he  a  religion  which  required  no  taking 


8 

heed,  no  earnestness,  no  watchfulness — a  law  which  de 
manded  no  careful  and  exact  obedience,  a  piety  which, 
dispensed  with  the  attention  of  the  mind,  and  the  homage 
of  the  affections,  which  made  no  claim  on,  and  had  no  use 
for,  the  noblest  part  of  man— would  such  a  religion  be  wor- 
thy either  for  Grod  to  give,  or  for  man  to  receive  ?  Could 
you,  could  any  thinking  person,  reverence  such  a  religion? 

Let  us,  then,  consider  it  a  settled  thing,  that  the  young 
man  who  would  cleanse  his  way  must  begin,  by  taking  heed 
to  it.     What  else  is  requisite? 

It  was  said  in  the  commencement,  that  the  view  of  human 
life  there  exhibited,  by  the  illustration  of  an  unguided  trav- 
eler over  a  dangerous  road,  was  one-sided  and  imperfect, 
though  true  as  far  as  it  went.  If  that  were  a  just  represen- 
tation of  the  whole  case,  it  might  be  asked,  with  some  ap- 
pearance of  plausibility,  "Why  take  heed,  when  no  caution 
is  enough  to  preserve,  no  wisdom  sufficient  to  direct?  Why 
watch,  when  no  friendly  light  illumines  the  path?  Why 
listen,  when  no  whisper  of  direction  stirs  the  silent  air?" 

It  Avere  easy  to  show  that  these  questions,  though  plausi- 
ble, would  not  be  appropriate,  nor  even  natural,  under  the 
very  view  of  the  case  which  they  presuppose.  Is  it  natural, 
or  if  it  wrere  natural,  is  it  right,  for  men  to  take  no  heed, 
because  the  way  they  must  travel  is  dark  and  dangerous, 
unrelieved  by  a  ray  of  light,  or  a  prospect  of  assistance? 
The  sailor,  lost  overboard  at  night,  in  a  tempest,  when  the 
writhing  masts  groan  in  the  grasp  of  the  hurricane — does 
he  refuse  to  listen  for  the  sounds  from  the  vessel,  to  look  for 
its  light,  to  struggle  upwards  amid  the  waves,  because  he 
knows  there  is  no  human  possibility  of  his  rescue?  If  the 
condition  of  men,  therefore,  were  ever  so  desperate  ;  if  they 
knew,  and  could  know,  nothing  of  this  life  than  that  it  is 
one  of  liability  to  error,  and  nothing  of  the  life  to  come,  save 
that  it  is  to  come,  this  alone  would  constitute  no  reason  for 
neglecting  to  take  heed. 

But,  thanks  to  thy  name,  merciful  Father,  thou  hast  not 
left  man  to  grope  in  unassisted  darkness.  Close  beside  those 
wandering  feet  a  lamp  is  let  down  ;  along  that  treacherous 
path  a  light  hath  shined-  The  young  man  must  cleanse  his 
way  "by  taking  heed  thereto — according  to  thy  tvord." 

That  the  Bible  is  the  word  of  God,  I  am  not  now  going 
to  prove.  You  admit  it  as  fully  as  I  claim.  My  effort  shall 
be  to  impress  on  you  what  you  believe,   to  develop  and 


expand  truths  which  you  acknowledge,  and  to  recommend 
to  your  hearts,  as  well  as  to  your  minds,  the  guidance  of 
your  way  by  the  word  of  God. 

And  here,  in  this  very  language,  what  an  argument  forces 
itself  on  our  view!  Tiie  Wokd  of  God!  Amid  a  silent 
universe,  striving-  vainly  by  dumb  signs  to  tell  its  mighty 
secrets,  a  word  is  uttered.  And  that  miraculous  word  sets 
loose  the  prisoned  voices,  gives  speech  and  utterance  to  Na- 
ture's myriad  tongues,  and  furnishes  the  key  which  explains 
those  inarticulate  movements  by  which  she  strove  to  symbol 
forth  the  majesty  of  her  Maker  and  the  goodness  of  God. 
God's  word,  and  what  a  word  !  We  are  lost,  and  this  is  the 
word  of  guidance  ;  sad,  and  this  is  a  word  to  console;  fallen, 
and  this  is  a  word  of  strength  ;  condemned,  and  this  is  the 
word  of  forgiveness  ;  outcast,  disowned  and  disgraced,  and 
this  is  the  word  which  adopts,  welcomes,  and  acknowledges 
us  as  sons.     Shall  we  not  listen  to  it? 

Why  gazes  that  weather-beaten  mariner,  drenched  with 
the  spray  that  dashes  over  his  flying  vessel — why  gazes  he 
so  steadfastly  yonder?  And  as  his  vessel  descends  between 
two  huge  waves,  why  so  anxiously  seeks  he  still,  in  the 
same  direction,  the  object  on  which  his  eye  was  fixed  ?  It 
is  the  beacon  flame,  that'  may  guide  him  into  port.  And 
we  too,  poor  voyagers  over  an  ocean  where  sunlight  is  with- 
drawn, and  stars  can  give  no  aid-— we  have  a  beacon  kindled 
amid  the  gloom,  a  more  sure  word  of  prophecy,  ua  light 
shining  in  a  dark  place,  whereunto  we  do  well  that  we  take 
heed." 

The  proof  that  taking  heed  according  to  the  word  of  God 
is  the  only  purifier  of  man's  way,  i.  e.,  of  his  life  and  con- 
duct, may  be  presented  in  various  forms.  It  may  be  shown 
abstractly  that  the  word  of  God  is  adapted  to. the  purpose j 
and  that  it  alone  is  ;  and  it  may  be  shown,  secondly,  by 
facts,  that  it  accomplishes  the  result,  and  that  it  alone  does. 

I.  The. Bible  alone  is  adapted  and  adequate  to  purify  and 
direct  man's  way. 

One  part  of  this  adaptation  consists  in  its  presenting  the 
proper  objects  for  the  exercise  of  his. energies.  No  man  can 
be  strictly  and  entirely  inactive  ;  least  of  all,  a  young  man. 
In  one  sense  the  idlest  is  busy.  The  indolent  man  labors  as 
hard,  often,  in  doing  nothing,  and  striving  to  avoid  doing- 
something,  as  the  diligent  to  accomplish  his  work.  Not  the 
absence  of  activity,  but  its  misdirection  and  waste,  is  the 
2 


10 

chief  danger  of  young  men.  And  he  is  wise  who,  in  direct* 
ing  the  young,  provides  legitimate  channels  for  the  egress 
■and  use  of  those  energies,  which  would,  if  unemployed. 
overflow  the  hanks  of  authority.,  and  not  only  he  wasted 
themselves,  but  waste  everything  around  them. 

The  idler  in  college,  for  instance,  is  likely  to  vent  the 
surplus  energy  which  was  not  expended  in  his  studies,  in 
some  scheme  of  mischief;  and  wonders,  perhaps,  that  the 
faculty  find  him  out,  forgetting  that  he  tells  on  himself  by 
his  meagre  recitations,  and  that  they  have  long  learned  that 
the  student  who  is  not  busy  with  his  books,  will  be  busy  in 
some  other  way.  Or  another,  of  a  different  turn,  will  in- 
dustriously apply  himself  to  achieve  the  character  of  an  idler, 
and  will  expend  as  much  labor  and  ingenuity  during  a  ses- 
sion, in  devising  methods  of  evading  duties  and  contriving 
excuses,  and  sliding  through  by  bare  sufferance,  as  it  would 
have  cost  to  do  his  work  manfully  and  well. 

The  truth  is,  all  are  busy.  The  difference  between  men 
is,  that  some  are  engaged  about  trifles,  others  about  things 
of  imrjortance  ;  some  about  things  of  the  passing  moment, 
others  about  those  of  permanent  value  ;  some  about  so  many 
things,  that  there  is  no  concentration  of  energy  on  one, 
while  others  do  one  thing  at  a  time';  some  are  fitful,  change- 
able, and  soon  weary  of  anything  they  commence,  others 
patient,  persevering  and  adhesive,  till  they  attain  the  de- 
sired result.  These  are  the  great  sources  of  the  differences 
between  men.  With  how  much  of  justice,  alas,  might  many 
of  us  take  up  the  exclamation  of  the  dying  Grotius,  "Eheu, 
vitam  perdidi,  laboriose  nihil  agendo!" 

Now  these  energies,  so  liable  to  be  perverted,  and  so  dan- 
gerous when  misdirected,  may  all  find  legitimate  employ- 
ment in  pursuit  of  the  ends  set  forth  in  the  word  of  God. 
No  powers  too  great,  no  capacities  too  various  and  versatile, 
no  faculties  too  exalted,  to  find  worthy  and  full  engagement 
in  the  objects  proposed  to  the  Christian  man.  And  where 
else  can  you  find  such  objects  ? 

Shut  the  Bible,  and  banish  the  reflected  light,  which, 
though  coming  to  us  apparently  from  other  sources,  was 
really  borrowed  from  it,  and  what  worthy,  what  intelligible 
object  remains,  that  a  man  ought  to  live  for? 

If  there  is  nothing  hcyond  this  world,  then  there  is  nothing 
in  this  world,  worthy  of  him.  Cut  off  from  the  knowledge 
of  his  origin  and  of  his  end,  ignorant  of  the  high  lineage  by 


which  he  is  at  once  a  partaker  of  the  divine  image,  and  akin 
to  every  other  man  on  the  globe,  he  wanders  forth. a  solitary 
stranger,  whence  or  whither,  he  knows  not — why,  lie  knows 
not — his  whole  being  and  objects  and  aspirations  limited  to 
his  own  individual  earthly  existence,  himself  his  only  god, 
himself  his  only  friend,  himself  Ids  only  hope,  with  no  guide 
but  the  light  within  him,  and  that  light  darkness. 

The  world  itself  becomes  an  enigma,  its  history  a  para- 
dox, the  existence  of  each  individual  a  riddle  (Without  an 
answer  ;  and  the  more  exalted  the  nature  of  man  is  discov- 
ered to  be,  the  more  utterly  beyond  solution  the  mystery  of 
his  being.  The  inhabitant  of  a  day,  yet  furnished  for  im- 
mortality— the  nameless,  unacknowledged  child  of  chance, 
yet  provided  with  a  princely  heritage — endowed  with  vast 
capacities  employed  for  no  adequate  purpose — an  accumula- 
tion of  contradictions,  like  an  algebraic  problem,  which 
leads  to  a  solution  signifying'  an  impracticable,  impossible 
result. 

Without  the  communications  of  God's  word,  the  ends  of 
human  life  seem  to  centre  in  self,  and  to  be  limited  to  this 
world  ;  and  existence  here  appears  a  weary,  fruitless  circle, 
ever  returning  to  its  own  beginning,  in  which  there  is  re- 
volving without  advance,  hurrying  without  progress,  striv- 
ing without  attainment.  It  was  in  such  a  view  as  this,  that 
David  exclaimed,  taking  for  a  moment  the  standpoint  of  one 
who  looked  at  man  apart  from  his  immortality — "Wherefore 
hast  thou  made  all  men  in  vain?" 

Turn  now  to  revelation.  Let  the  light  which  streams 
from  another  world  illumine  the  darkness  of  this,  and  see 
how  the  objects  of  human  life  are  expanded,  elevated,  enno- 
bled. 

As  to  personal  enjoyment,  it  leaves  that  still  a  legitimate 
object  of  pursuit  to  each  individual,  but  instead  of  making; 
it  selfishly  and  sordidly  the  sole  end,  it  subordinates  it  to 
others,  retaining  all  its  nearness  without  its  narrowmess  : 
and  besides  this,  teaches  how  more  effectually  to  secure  it, 
denying  to  us  only  such  gratifications  as  are  hurtful,  pre- 
scribing no  sacrifices  which  it  does  not  abundantly  repay, 
and  opening  to  us  newr  and  higher  sources  of  delight. 

But  this,  which  was  before  the  highest  object  of  human 
effort,  becomes  now  the  lowest ;  not  by  being  degraded,  for 
as  we  have  seen,  it  is  elevated,  but  by  the  superaddition  of 
other  objects  superior  in  their  nature. 


12 

Accordingly,  the  good  of  our  fellow  men  is  presented  i-n 
the  Bible  as  a  thing  to  be  sought  ;  no  longer  the  wild  dream 
of  the  enthusiast,  nor  the  fruitless  sighing  of  the  visionary 
for  that  which  is  unattainable,  but  the  practical  and  practi- 
cable end,  which  every  earnest  man  may  every  day  aim  at. 
To  be  a  benefactor  to  the  race  is  not  the  exclusive  privilege 
of  the  favored  few,  the  monopoly  of  a  peculiar  class,  but  the 
legitimate  ambition,  the  every  day  duty  of  all  Christian  men. 
In  a  narrower  or  wider  sphere,  by  methods  less  or  more  con- 
spicuous, to  a  greater  or  smaller  degree,  every  man  may  do 
the  world  good.  Is  he  a  farmer?  He  who  will  learn  how 
to  make  two  stalks  of  wheat  grow  where  one  grew  before, 
will  be  a  benefactor,  a  greater  benefactor  than  the  conqueror 
of  kingdoms.  Is  he  a  lawyer?  He  may  protect  the  help- 
less, right  the  oppressed,  diffuse  sentiments  of  justice,  honor 
and  probity  throughout  the  community.  Is  he  a  physician? 
He  may  rejoice  to  relieve  the  distressed,  to  strengthen  the 
failing,  to  rescue,  or  if  he  cannot  rescue,  to  soothe  the. dying. 
In  short,  it  is  impossible  to  point  to  any  position  in  life, 
where  a  man  may  not  and  ought  not  to  be  a  benefactor  to 
his  kind  ;  and  if  it  were  possible  to  find  such  a  position,  a 
moral  desert  worse  than  Sahara,  isolated  aud  barren,  where 
not  even  a  passing  caravan  or  thirsty  wanderer  might  be 
aided,  then  it  would  be  certain,  that  that  was  a  position  not 
intended  for  man  to  occupy. 

Now  this  end,   the  benefit  of  our  fellow  men,  the  word  of 

God  distinctly  sets  before  us.     And  is  it  not  a  noble  one,  an 

ennobling  one?     Determine  now,   young  men,  and  never 

forget  the  resolution,  to  live  so  that  the  world  may  be  better 

for  your  having  been  in  it. 

And  there  is  a  higher  object  still,  set  before  us  in  the 
Bible — the  glory  of  God.  Before  the  grandeur  of  tjiis  lofty 
aim,  all  others  become  insignificant.  In  the  radiance  from 
this  luminous  pinnacle,  all  other  lights  are  comprehended 
and  lost.  The  highest  eminence. which  man  can  attain,  is 
when,  having  scaled  each  mount  of  fame,  he  bows  to  lay  his 
honors  and  himself  at  the  footstool  of  his  Maker,  and  re- 
turns., with  a  consciousness  of  its  unworthiness,  the  homage 
of  his  heart  to  Him  who  gave  him  all. 

Another  part  of  the  proof,  that  the  word  of  God  is  the 
proper  guide  in  endeavoring  to  cleanse  our  way,  is  that  the 
motives  it  presents  are  suitable  and  sufficient .  In  order  to  ac- 
complish a  result,  not  only  must  the  object  be  properly  de- 


13 

fined,  and  kept  in  view,  but  the  machinery  must  be  put  in 
motion  ;  and  the  motive  powers  must  be  adapted  to  the  na- 
ture of  the  instrument  to  he  set  in  operation,  and  also  propor- 
tioned in  energy  to  the  result  to  he  attained. 

The  Bible  proposes  to  man,  as  we  have  seen,  vast  ends. 
To  accomplish  these,  it  needs  powerful  motives  :  and  it  pro- 
vides them,  suitable  in  quality,  and  sufficient  in  quantity. 
It  appeals  to  man's  fear,  by  motives  of  infinite  power,  hut 
in  such  a  way  that  tins  useful  and  necessary  part  of  man's 
nature  becomes  elevated,  from  a  cowardly  and  slavish  dread 
to  sublime  reverence,  and,  by  implanting  the  tear  of  God, 
the  soul  is  rendered  impervious  to  a  lower  fear. 

It  appeals  to  hope,  and  attracts  the  longing  eye  and 
yearning  heart  of  man,  by  painting  and  promising  realities 
surpassing  all  the  visions  of  human  fancy — beyond  what  eye 
had  seen,  or  heart  conceived  ;  and  thus,  by  two  infinite  mo- 
tives, one  attractive,  the  other  repulsive,  tends  to  fix  the 
vibrating  magnet  to  its  true  pole. 

And  a  stronger  motive  still  is  brought  to  bear — love.  To 
win  the  estranged  heart  of  man,  God  reveals  himself  in 
robes  of  infinite  benevolence.  The  hieroglyphic  characters 
of  Nature's  volume  are  explained,  and  man  is  enabled  to 
read  God's  name  imprinted  on  the  sky  above,  the  earth  be- 
neath, glistening  on  every  blade  of  verdure,  and  smiling 
from  every  star,  "that  new.  best  name  of  love."  Nor  is  it 
love  congealed  and  crystallized  in  lifeless  inefficacy,  but  ac- 
tive in  blessing  and  enriching  man.  Nor  is  this  all.  Besides 
these  inscriptions,  starting  into  view  and  vividness  on  the 
countless  tablets  of  creation,  declaring  the  kindness  of  our 
Maker,  a  more  wondrous,  an  amazing  communication  of  love 
is  made — one  which  required,  as  it  were,  a  new  language  to 
convey  it — which  only  one  word  could  express — the  Incar- 
nate Word,  the  word  that  was  in  the  beginning  with  God, 
and  was  God.  To  drop  the  figure,  the  last,  the  highest,  the 
constraining  motive  is  the  love  of  Christ,  which  passeth 
knowledge. 

And  now,  beyond  and  besides  all  the  moral  power  of  these 
persuasions  upon  the  mind,  there  is  a  revelation  of  ''grace 
to  help  in  time  of  need/'  a  power  by  which  the  Almighty 
Spirit  "helps  our  infirmities,"  a  grace  which  is  "sufficient," 
a  mysterious  strengthening,  a  marvellous  indwelling,  by 
which  Christ  lives  in  his  people,  enters  into  the  hearts  of 
those  who  love  him,   and  makes  his   abode  with  them.     Bv 


14 

this,  more  than  all  else,  the  soul  is  cleansed  ,  and  then,  of' 
course,  the  way  or  conduct  is  cleansed  too.  I  cannot  now 
dwell  on  this  glorious  theme  ;  but  it  is  one  familiar  and  de- 
lightful to  all  Christians,  a  source  of  hope  and  joy  unuttera- 
ble, to  think  that  the  same  blessed  Lord  Jesus,  who  loved 
us  and  gave  himself  for  us,  will  yet  more  richly  love  us  and 
give  himself  to  us,  and  enable  the  poor  struggling  child  of 
weakness  to  exclaim,  "  I  can  do  all  things  through  Christ 
which  strengthened  me;"  u  I  live,  yet  not  I,  but  Christ 
liveth  in  me." 

II.  We  need  not  confine  ourselves,  however,  to  the  argu- 
ment from  the  obvious  adaptation  of  the  word  of  God  to  ac- 
complish the  work  of  cleansing  man's  way.  Facts  exhibit  its 
efficacy  in  the  strongest  light.  We  have  shown  that  it  can 
exert,  we  will  now  prove  that  it  has  exerted  this  influence. 

Your  own  observation  will  sustain  the  assertion,  that  few 
take  heed,  in  a  moral  sense,  to  their  ways  at  all,  except 
those  who  are  led  to  do  it  by  this  book;  and  that  those  who 
do  take  heed  in  accordance  with  its  teachings,  are  cleansed 
by  it. 

As  you  grew  up  from  childhood  to  the  age  and  judgment 
of  young  men,  I  doubt  not  the  larger  part  of  those,  with 
whom  you  became  acquainted,  acknowledged  the  Bible  as  the 
Word  of  God,  The  few  who  expressed  more  or  less  covertly 
a  contrary  opinion,  you  have  not  had  reason  to  believe  more 
acute,  more  wise,  more  pure,  or  less  prejudiced  than  the 
others  ;  but,  in  many  cases,  the  very  opposite.  It  is  not 
exaggeration  to  say  that,  so  far  as  your  knowledge  extends, 
the  overwhelming  majority  of  men  of  wisdom,  of  standing, 
of  elevated  minds  and  estimable  characters,  are  arrayed  on 
the  side  of  the  Bible. 

You  have  observed  again,  that  among  those  who  recog- 
nize the  Bible  as  true  and  inspired,  some  appear  to  give 
much  more  heed  to  it  than  others,  and  seem  to  regard  it,  not 
only  as  true  in  general,  but  true  to  them,  and  important  to 
them  ;  and  they  apply  themselves  assiduously  to  the  study 
and  practice  of  its  contents.  Have  you  not  discerned  a  bene- 
ficial influence  exerted  over  them  ?  Have  you  ever,  in  fact, 
detected  an  influence,  which  you  could  say  was  legitimately 
traceable  to  the  Bible,  that  was  otherwise  ?  Are  there  any 
instances,  anywhere,  of  men  made  worse  by  the  word  of 
God  ?  of  persons  who,  while  they  disbelieved  it,  were  honest. 


sober,  benevolent — but  became  cruel,  injurious  and  sensual, 
j  ielding  to  its  sway  ? 

And  still  more  to  exhibit  the  contrast  between  the  influ- 
ence of  tcilcinu;  heed  according  to  the  Bible,  and  all  other 
agencies  for  human  elevation,  submit  the  matter  to  the  se- 
it  test,  and  search  whether  there  can  be  produced, 
among  all  the  ranks  of  its  opponents,  any  isolated  examples, 
even,  of  elevated  and  spotless  integrity  under  circumstances 
of  trial,  combined  with  noble  self-sacrifice,  and  philanthropic 
devotion  to  the  welfare  of  their  fellow  men. 

A  few  such  instances,  even  if  they  existed,  would  not 
blish  the  general  tendency,  nor  disprove  the  inevitable 
inference  from  the  great  mass  of  contrary  evidences  ;  but 
there  is  unanswerable  significance  in  the  fact  that  there  are 
no  such  fortuitous  cases  to  be  found,  that  infidelity  has 
never,  ever  by  accident,  stumbled  into  indubitable  and  dis- 
interested moral  heroism. 

Extending  this  observation  of  facts  to  a  wider  sphere  than 
that  of  individual  character,  it  is  undeniable,  however  it 
nviy  be  accounted  for,  that  those  nations  who  have  this  book 
are  civilized,  those  who  have  it  not  are  barbarous  :  and  fur- 
thermore, that  if  a  scale  were  made,  showing  the  degree  in 
which  it  is  circulated  and  esteemed  in  each  country,  that 
scale  would  exhibit,  with  great  exactness,  the  grade  of  its  com- 
parative refinement,  purity,  stability  and  general  happiness. 

As  we  read  the  history  of  the  past,  the  same  results  are 
forced  upon  us.  The  heathen  world  without  the  Bible  bears 
gloomy  testimony  to  its  necessity.  Admit  that  much  may 
be  said  in  praise  of  those  philosophers  of  antiquity — men 
whose  like,  in  some  respects,  the  world  never  saw — all  this 
only  adds  force  to  the  argument.  Their  wisdom,  genius, 
eminence  in  art,  eloquence  and  literature,  their  acute  phi- 
losophy, and  vigorous  intellectual  development,  all  only  en- 
hance the  value  of  the  testimony  ;  since  it  becomes  obvious, 
that  the  greatest  natural  advantages  could  not  guide  such 
men  to  any  profitable  or  permanent  result,  much  less  accom- 
plish anything  for  the  masses,  who  never  were,  and  never 
could  be  philosophers. 

As  we  come  down  later,  we  see  that,  three  hundred  years 
ago,  letters,  science  and  liberty  revived  ;  and  we  are  struck 
by  the  cotemporary,  or  rather  precedent  fact,  that,  three  hun- 
dred years  ago,  the  Bible  was  brought  out  of  the  cloisters  and 
given  to  men.     Where  it   went,  there  was  light  ;  where  it 


was  absent,  darkness  reigned.  It  approached  the  throf/e 
and  tyrant  dynasties  became  merciful  and  just :  it  entered 
the  hovel  of  the  serf,  and  elevated  him  into  a  freeman  and  a 
citizen.  It  gave  the  ignorant  a  thirst  for  knowledge,  and 
revealed  to  the  eager  devotee  of  learning  new  motives  and 
better  avenues  for  attaining  his  design.  It  sent  down,  into1 
the  benighted  valleys  of  the  uninstructed,  the  light,  which 
had,  in  the  earlier  dawning,  rested  on  the  mountain  tops  ; 
while  it  exhibited  to  the  more  favored  dwellers  on  the  ele- 
vated heights,  a  wider  field  of  intellectual  enterprise,  and 
infused  a  zeal  for  entering  it,  which  the  world  never  saw 
before. 

But  I  must  not  pursue  this  topic  further.  It  was  a  per- 
tinent and  pungent  reply  of  the  blind  man,  whom  Jesus- 
healed,  to  the  Pharisees — "Herein  is  a  marvellous  thing, 
that  ye  know  not  whence  he  is,  and  yet  he  hath  opened 
mine  eyes  !"  And  we  may  say  likewise — Herein  is  a  mar- 
vellous thing,  that  men  know  not  whence  this  book  is,  which 
hath  opened  the  blinded  eyes  of  the  nations,  stricken  chains 
from  the  oppressed,  quickened  into  life  tribes  slumbering  in 
death-like  stupor,  and  left  a  golden  blessing  behind  it, 
wherever  it  rested  its  flying  feet  as  it  circled  the  globe  on' 
its  errand  of  love. 

ioung  gentlemen  of  the  Senior  Class,  at  whose  invitation 
I  am  here,  my  feelings  have  prompted  a  Salutatory  rather 
than  a  Valedictory ,  I  have  no  sad  words  of  farewell,  no- 
sighs  of  trembling  anticipation  to  breathe  into  your  ears. 
Rather  would  I  sound  the  cheering  trumpet  call,  rather  hail 
you  as  fellow  soldiers  inarching  to  the  battle,  rather  join  my 
voice  with  the  voices  that  come  from  numberless  posts  of 
honor  and  of  duty,  claiming  the  consecration  of  fervent 
piety,  the  active  energies  of  young  hearts.  I  will  not  say 
Farewell — and  bid  you  go  forth  into  the  world — but  Wel- 
come, as  you  press  out  into  life.  Welcome  to  the  field 
of  conflict,  welcome  to  the  certain  triumph,  welcome  to  the- 
armies  of  truth  and  holiness.  And  may  God  grant  his  grace 
to  sanctify  your  labors,  to  sweeten  your  toil,  and  to  give 
success  to  all  your  efforts. 


